Improvement in anchors



PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES A. CHAMBERLIN, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN ANCHORS.

Specification forlnin g part of Letters Patent No. 116,806, dated July11, 1871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. CHAMBERLIN, of Pittsburg, in the countyof Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Ships Anchor; and I do hereby declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing making a part of this spec iication, in which-Figure l is a rear perspective view of my improved anchor, and Fig. 2 isan edge view or side elevation thereof'.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts of each.

The object of my improvement is to obviate the defects of the commonanchor, which are both numerous and serious. Its shape is such (thestock and linkes being at right angles to each other) that it is alwaysin the way on the bows or inboard, hanging at the cathead or at thehawse-hole. In heaving up it is apt to get under the forefoot, and whenthe vessel is pitching, it can be fished only with great diiculty. Whenhanging at the cathead it fouls everything it touches. Again, it issometimesnecessary to come to at short range. In such case it isdifficult to make the flukes catch and penetrate sufficiently to hold.The frequent fouling of the linkes and chain is also a seriousdifficulty, and it is impossible to ascertain without heaving up whetherthey are fouled or not; and, in addition to all this, its holdin g poweris so small that even when not fouled it often drags, so that relianceon it often results in the destruction of both life and property.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and" use my improvement, Iwill proceed to dcscribe its construction and mode of operation.

The cable or chain is connected to an eye, a, at the forward end of theshank a. The opposite or rear end of the shank ais bifurcated and spreadapart, as at a. To the rear ends of these legs a is loosely pivoted, bya rod, c, or otherwise, a bow, b, terminating in the arms b', on theinner or outer edges of which (or both) are the blades b, theextremities ofthe arms and the edges of the blades being such as willreadily penetrate the earth on whichever side the anchor may happen tocant. These blades and arms constitute what are generally known as theflukes. The point n at which the bow b is hung to the legs a is above or(reckin a vertical position, and such springs I claim as the mechanicalequivalent of a preponderance of weight in the U-part of the bow b. Fromeach of the arms b', and both above and below, a curved guide, d, passesup and over to the opposite arm b the points where such guides connectwith the arms b being preferably back of the pivotingpoint n. Theseguides may be Xed and sup ported each by a brace, d', or, as I prefer tomake them, they may be pivoted, as shown, and the rear end of each braced be secured by a key, so that when the anchor is stowed the braces dmay be unkeyed and the guides d be laid down flat onto the upper orlower face of the anchor and be out of the way.4 The arms b forward ofthe pivoting-point a are connected by chains e to the legs a forpurposes which will be obvious to those skilled in the art. The anchormade as described has not sufficient edge-face for it to stand on;hence, when dropped,it will cant onto either its upper or lower face,and rest on the lower guide d and the points of its tlukes. The firstdragging motion, by the resistance of the lower guide on the ground,acts so as to thrust the points of the flukes into the earth, and thedeeper they penetrate the greater such thrusting force will be; henceits holding power is measured not, as in the ordinary anchor, by itsweight alone, but by the latter plus the force of the downward thrustcaused by the leverage of the lower guide.

I thus make an anchor which, with the same weight, or even a lessweight, possesses a greater holding power than the ordinary anchor -onethat will cant with absolute certainty under all circumstances, one thatcannot possibly be fouled by the chain and when hanging at the catheadcannot foul the rigging or chains of other vessels in hauling in or outof dock. As the llukes always hangvertical they cannot catch under theforefoot when weighing, nor injure the bows in eatting or fishing. It iseasier oatted and handled, ishes Without difiiculty, stows away moresnugly, and is better for kedging or boatservice. It has no uke or stockprojecting upward to injure a vessel in shallow Water, and both flukesare in use at the same time.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination of the lukes, connected by a curved or angular bar,b, extending beyond the center of oscillation, the bifurcated shank a',and guiding device d located between the connecting-bar and center ofoscillation, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The Weighted head b or connecting-barof the lukes, in combinationwith the shank t loosely pivoted thereto in such manner, substantiallyas described, as that the superior gravity of the connecting-bar shallgive the iiukes a vertical position in Weighing` or dropping anchor.

3. In combination with the devices described in the second claim, theguiding-bars d and braces cZ, attached by a screw-bolt so as to be

